Life
He was the son of Adin Thayer (1785–1858) and Mary (Ball) Thayer. He married first Eliza D. (1821–1843). He married second Fanny A. Crawford (1820–1875).
He lived at Hoosick Falls, New York.
In 1874, he was elected a Canal Commissioner on the Democratic ticket, and was in office from 1875 to 1877. The office of Canal Commissioner had been abolished by an amendment to the New York State Constitution in 1876, pending the appointment of a Superintendent of Public Works. The Canal Commissioners remained in office in 1877. Due to the erroneous belief that, with the office having been abolished, no provisions for the election of a successor existed, no successor was elected in November 1877, and Thayer tried to hold over in office until the eventual appointment of a Superintendent of Public Works. Attorney General Augustus Schoonmaker, Jr. explained that that was not correct. He held that, since the Canal Commissioners should discharge their duties as before until the appointment of a Superintendent of Public Works, and none had been appointed by November 1877, a successor should have been elected to take office on January 1, 1878, that Thayer's term had expired on December 31 and he could not hold over in office, and that in fact a vacancy existed that could be filled according to the State Constitution (in this case by the election of a Canal Commissioner by joint ballot of the State Legislature). Thayer contested Schoonmaker's decision, and threatened to go to court. David Dudley Field, as Thayer's attorney gave the opinion that if no successor has been elected, the incumbent should hold over. On the other side, Assemblyman Skinner offered a resolution to elect a successor by joint ballot of the State Legislature on January 17, 1878. The vacancy was not filled, and on February 8, 1878, the first Superintendent of Public Works, Benjamin S. W. Clark, qualified to take over the duties from the remaining two Canal Commissioners Christopher A. Walrath and Darius A. Ogden.
The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a Canal Fund led by Commissioners of the Canal Fund was established to oversee the funding of construction of the canal. In 1826 a Canal Board, of which both the planning commissioners and the Canal Fund commissioners were members, was created to take control of the operational canal. The term "Canal Commission" was at times applied to any of these bodies. Afterwards the canal commissioners were minor state cabinet officers responsible for the maintenance and improvements of the state's canals.
The office of Superintendent of Public Works was created by an 1876 amendment to the New York State Constitution. It abolished the canal commissioners and established that the Department of Public Works execute all laws relating to canal maintenance and navigation except for those functions performed by the New York State Engineer and Surveyor who continued to prepare maps, plans and estimates for canal construction and improvement. The Canal Board continued to handle hiring of employees and other personnel matters. The Barge Canal Law of 1903 directed the Canal Board to oversee the enlargement of and improvements to the Erie Canal, the Champlain Canal and the Oswego Canal. In 1967, the Department of Public Works was merged with other departments into the new New York State Department of Transportation.
He was a delegate to the 1880 Democratic National Convention.
The 1880 Democratic National Convention was held June 22 to 24, 1880, at the Music Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio, and nominated Winfield S. Hancock of Pennsylvania for President and William H. English of Indiana for Vice President in the United States presidential election of 1880.
He died from "paralysis" while staying at the home of his son in Akron, Ohio, and was buried at the Old Maple Grove Cemetery in Hoosick, NY.
There have been 90 gubernatorial elections in the state of New York since 1777. The next one will be held on November 3, 2022.
Augustus Schoonmaker Jr. was an American lawyer and Democratic politician.
The 1882 New York state election was held on November 7, 1882, to elect the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Chief Judge and a U.S. Representative-at-large, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly. Besides, two constitutional amendments were proposed - the abolition of tolls on the State canals, and to increase the number of justices on the New York Supreme Court - and were accepted by the electorate.
The 1870 New York state election was held on November 8, 1870, to elect the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the New York State Comptroller, two Canal Commissioners and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly.
The 1874 New York state election was held on November 3, 1874, to elect the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissioner and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and one member of the New York State Senate.
The 1876 New York state election was held on November 7, 1876, to elect the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissioner and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and two members of the New York State Senate. Besides, two constitutional amendments were proposed - to abolish the elected Canal Commissioners and appoint a Superintendent of Public Works instead; and to abolish the elected New York State Prison Inspectors and appoint a Superintendent of State Prisons instead - and both were accepted by the electorate.
The 1878 South Carolina United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 5, 1878 to select five Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. Two Democratic incumbents were re-elected, two Republican incumbents were defeated and the open seat was picked up by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation after the election was solely Democratic.
Gideon John Tucker was an American lawyer, newspaper editor and politician. In 1866, as Surrogate of New York County, he wrote in a decision of a will case: "No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session."
Alexander Barkley was an American politician from New York.
Christopher A. Walrath was an American merchant and politician from New York.
Darius Adams Ogden was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
The 1863 New York state election was held on November 3, 1863, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, a Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissioner and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.
The 1865 New York state election was held on November 7, 1865, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, two Judges of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissioners, an Inspector of State Prisons and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.
The 1873 New York state election was held on November 4, 1873, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, a Canal Commissioner and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. Besides, the voters were asked if the judges of the New York Court of Appeals, the New York Supreme Court, and the county and city courts, shall be elected or appointed; the electorate decided to maintain the elective system.
The 1878 New York state election was held on November 5, 1878, to elect a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and one member of the New York State Senate to sit in the 102nd New York State Legislature.
The 1879 New York state election was held on November 4, 1879, to elect the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer and the State Engineer, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.
The 1881 New York state election was held on November 8, 1881, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer and a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.
Francis Samuel Thayer was an American merchant and politician from New York.
